METROWEST DAILY NEWS (Framingham, Massachusetts)

METROWEST DAILY NEWS (Framingham, Massachusetts) 14 April 06 Spotted turtles remain on list (Jon Brodkin)
Westborough: Spotted turtles should not be removed from the state list of species that are endangered, threatened or of special concern based on evidence available today, a scientific advisory board concluded yesterday.
Because data is lacking in both quantity and quality, it's impossible to determine whether the turtle is suffering a decline that could threaten the species' existence, the committee said in a 5-1 vote. The Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee urged the state to conduct more extensive research.
"The weight of this information is zero," said committee member Stephen Meyer, who also serves on Sudbury's Conservation Commission.
The spotted turtle was first protected as a species of "special concern" in 1986, when there was even less data on the species' distribution in Massachusetts.
While the committee said there is not enough scientific evidence to support taking the turtle off the list, it also said there would not be enough evidence to support adding the species to the list if it wasn't already included.
The final decision rests with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife board, which can vote however it wishes but has never taken a species off the list against the advice of its advisory committee.
The board could decide to remove spotted turtles from the list based on factors other than scientific ones, advisory committee members said. For example, the board could determine that the cost of enforcing the Endangered Species Act to protect the turtle is too great a burden, and that resources should be reassigned.
The state Fisheries and Wildlife staff's proposal to take the turtle off the list was the fourth such request since 1991. The state has recorded 966 spots where the turtle lives in 259 cities and towns. At least 30 of those sites have more than 15 turtles and eight have 50 or more.
"The sheer force of volume does mean something," said Tom French, head of the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program at Fisheries and Wildlife. "There's more out there than we thought there were."
In 1986, there were only 32 records of the turtle in the state. Today it is found frequently, sometimes forcing developers to abandon or scale down building projects.
Mark Pokras, a non-voting member of the scientific advisory committee, said he worries that a lack of evidence supporting the turtle's inclusion on the list could give developers grounds to sue.
"I can't help feeling in my gut this would be difficult to defend in court," Pokras said.
The advisory committee's report will be forwarded to Fisheries and Wildlife Director Wayne MacCallum, who must decide whether to bring it to the agency's board for a final vote. The board meets next month.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=127381